How to Choose the Best Lipstick for Your Skin Tone, According to a MUA

How often do you find yourself staring at the shelves of lipstick, feeling lost, confused, and questioning your entire (beauty) existence? There are so many different undertones, consistencies, and finishes that make a trip to the makeup aisle seem more like a task than a fun jaunt. Even for me, as a makeup artist, it’s no cakewalk digging for a fresh new shade. But here’s the thing: It doesn’t need to be a daunting endeavor. Luckily, once you have a few key guidelines, it’s quite easy to find the best lip color for your skin tone.

First and foremost, it helps tremendously to know your skin’s undertone. This little detail can actually assist in many fields of beauty and fashion, so it’s great to have it in your arsenal. Most people fall into one of two categories: warm or cool. Those with cool undertones tend to have fairer skin, while those with warm undertones have a golden or olive hue. If you find it really hard to determine your undertone, there’s a chance you’re neutral (a mixture of both). Below, I’ve put together a few quick tips that can help you find your skin’s undertone as well as the perfect shade of lipstick to match. Keep scrolling to find your best lip color.

If you have a pink, red, or bluish hue to your skin, you are a cool tone. You can tell your undertone is cool if the veins in your wrist look blue, silver jewelry complements your tone, or you tend to burn before you tan.

For your skin tone, lip colors with blue- or purple-shaded undertones look best. So when you go to choose a red lip, steer away from orangey shades and veer more toward deep-bluish reds. Be careful with shades that are too light, as they can wash you out.

Keep scrolling to shop three lipsticks that are perfect for those with cool undertones.

If you have a yellow, golden, or olive hue to your skin, you likely have a warm undertone. You can tell your undertone is warm if the veins in your wrist look green, gold jewelry complements your skin, or you tend to tan or get bronze fairly easily.

If you still struggle to identify your undertone, but you have a pretty basic understanding of your skin tone, don’t fret. People with fair skin look radiant in bold and deep colors that provide contrast to their tone. If you feel like you’re a bit more olive toned, pinks, nudes (Tom Ford’s Lip Color in Warm Sable, $54, is a sure bet), and corals will suit you well. If your skin has a darker tone, choose a berry lip or a bold, dark shade, like MAC’s Lipstick in Heroine ($18) to amp up your look.

The main thing to remember is that, ultimately, your lip color is up to you. If you feel like you look best in a coral but that doesn’t align with the “guidelines,” that's okay—just do you. At the end of the day, we all feel the prettiest in whichever choice makes us the most confident. For example, most beauty experts would tell you to stay away from shades that seem too ashy for fear of looking washed out. But sometimes, looking a bit gray is exactly what I aim to achieve—so an ashy lip it is!